Transcript Ancient Civilizations - West Shore Community College

Ancient Civilizations
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II.
Intro
Mesopotamia (3000-1000 BC)
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A. In General
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B. Society/Religion
C. Government
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III. Egypt (3100 BC-500 BC)
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A. Nile
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B. Unification & Prosperity
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IV. Conc.
Key Terms
Cuneiform
Code of
Hammurabi
Papyrus
Nile River
Menes
Great Pyramid
Announcements
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Requirement/Extra Credit Opportunities
“Chris Carter’s Student Body Language,” Friday
9/14 7:30 PM at WSCC theater
Peter Yarrow: Saturday 9/29, 7:30 at Ramsdell
Theater in Manistee
For free tickets call WSCC box office: 843-5507
To do: Attend the event & write a summary (one
page, single-spaced, typed, 250 words); due:
one week after the event
More than one: five points can be added to your
discussion grade
Two Important Civilizations
Mesopotamia & Egypt
Why here?
Access to water!
Mesopotamia
1. Mesopotamia = a Greek word meaning
“between the rivers.”
2. Rivers: Tigris & Euphrates
– The Rivers flooded periodically & flood
control was important.
Their Influence On Us Today
Mathematics:
• Number system with a base of 60
(combinations of 6 & 10)
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60 seconds in one minute
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60 minutes in one hour
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360 degrees in a circle
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360 days in year (extra month added
every six years)
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24 hours in one day
Their Influence On Us Today
Writing:
Sumerians invented “Cuneiform” which was the
first efficient system of writing.
•It was partly pictographic and partly an alphabet.
Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet
(ca. 2121 BC)
Society & Religion
• Religion dominated daily life & people constantly
tried to placate the gods.
• This was reflected in their architecture.
Ziggurat
(At the top was a temple for a god)
Religion
1. They were polytheists.
2. A major role/function
was to explain “natural
events.”
– “Gloomy” & vague
afterlife; no reward for
virtuous living.
3. Enlil-An important god
who influenced success
or failure of crops by
controlling weather.
Enlil
Mesopotamian Society
• Slavery was practiced; one could be enslaved
due to debt or prisoner of war.
• About 80-90% of the population farmed.
• Marriages were typically arranged by
parents.
Government in Mesopotamia
1. There were 10-12 separate city-states in
3000 BC; each was led by a “king.”
2. Leadership was very unstable; rulers rose &
fell based upon their popularity (usually based
on success of crops).
3. Kings acted as representatives of the gods;
no separation of church & state.
Hammurabi (Babylonian King)
(1792-1750 BC)
Hammurabi was able to
unify all of Mesopotamia
under his rule
Hammurabi and the law code
Code of Hammurabi
(ca.1750 BC)
• If a man commits robbery and is captured, he
shall be put to death.
• If the robber is not captured, the man who
has been robbed shall, in the presence of the
god, make a list of what he has lost, and the
city and the governor of the province where
the robbery was committed shall compensate
him for his loss.
– Insight: Protection of Private Property
Code of Hammurabi
(ca.1750 BC)
• If a man accuses another man of murder but
cannot prove it, the accuser shall be put to
death.
• If a man bears false witness in a case, or cannot
prove his testimony, if that case involves life or
death, he shall be put to death.
– Insight: Honesty
Code of Hammurabi
(ca.1750 BC)
• If a son strikes his father, they shall cut off his
hand.
• A widower cannot seize his dead wife’s
dowry, but must save it for her sons.
– Insight: Family Values
• If a noble has broken another noble’s bone,
they shall break his bone. If he has
destroyed the eye of a commoner or has
broken the bone of a commoner, he shall pay
one mina of silver.
– Insight: Rich & poor are treated differently
Code of Hammurabi
(ca.1750 BC)
• A wife can divorce her husband for adultery,
but only if she has been chaste; if not she is
to be thrown into the river along with her
lover.
• When she deserves it, a man may pull out the
hair of his wife, mutilate or twist her ears, with
no liability attaching to him.
– Insight: Women are NOT equal to men
The Code’s Significance?
1. No equality under the law (for women
and/or commoners)
2. Laws provide a code of ethical behavior; no
reward for ethical behavior
Role/Function Of Laws/Religion
Region
Religion
Laws
Misc.
Mesopotamia Religion explained natural events; Polytheistic;
Laws were written & provided
uncertainty &
ethics; but Church/State were one instability
Egypt’s Influence On Us Today
1. A new, less clumsy writing tablet:
Papyrus
2. Toothpaste!
a) Ingredients: lead, powdered flint, incense,
and honey (ca. 1500 BC)
Rosetta Stone
• Discovered in 1799;
deciphered 1822
• Included writing in
hieroglyphics,
demotic script, and
Greek
The Gift Of The Nile
Most of Egypt is a desert, but the Nile...
1. flooded every year which added nutrients to soil.
2. made the land “livable;” 5-15 miles on either side
of the River.
3. created a dependable and efficient transportation
system.
In contrast to Mesopotamia’s instability, the Nile
provided stability and prosperity to Egypt.
Unification Brings Prosperity
Egypt was believed to be first
unified between 3100-2850 BC
by…
Menes
He was also known as Narmer
Statistics & the Great Pyramid
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Built about 2600 BC
480 feet high and 750 feet long
Built with 2.3 million limestone blocks
Each block weighed about 2.5 tons
Each block was hand-chiseled to fit in
place perfectly
• Built with a labor force of about 100,000
men working for 20 years
Ancient Civilizations
I.
II.
Intro
Mesopotamia (3000-1000 BC)
•
A. Society/Religion
•
B. Government
III. Egypt (3100 BC-500 BC)
•
A. Nile
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B. Unification & Prosperity
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IV. Conc.
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Key Terms
Cuneiform
Code of
Hammurabi
Papyrus
Nile River
Menes
Great Pyramid